Big day today! Father’s Day! Many the proud father today. Many the happy kids giving Dad a Father’s Day gift.

Father’s Day seems like a natural. Unfortunately, it was not considered so for many years. Congress opposed efforts going back to 1098 to establish the holiday. The excuse was it would lead to commercialization of the day.

Would you believe?

Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge and Lyndon Johnson exercised their best abilities to legalize Father’s Day as a national holiday. Richard Nixon was finally successful. In 1972, he signed a Congressional bill into law recognizing the 3rd Sunday in June as such.

Father’s Day had its beginnings in the Middle Ages in Catholic Europe. St. Joseph was the father of Jesus Christ. St. Joseph’s Day was June 19. June 19 became recognized as Father’s Day also as a result.

Father’s Day did not take hold in the United States till early in the 20th century. Immigrants at the time probably brought the holiday with them.

Happy Father’s Day to all Dads. Enjoy the day. It is yours. Well deserved. As Mother’s Day is for the Moms.

Tammy for a manicure yesterday. The place is a gold mine! People with and without appointments coming in. Tammy and her staff working hard. always smiling. Accommodated one and all.

Dinner last night with Donna at Duffy’s. Terri home. She has a cold. Has to be careful whatever the problem. She threw Donna out of the house and told her to join me.

Even those not ill, but who care for those who are, get run down. Need a change of pace.

Home before 9. Watched the Watergate special on MSNBC. Excellent!

David Wolkowsky did it again! The man is amazing. Ninety eight years old and still active.

Mr. Key West annually since 2001 has given $65,000 a year to Key West High School teachers. Recipient teachers awarded are referred to as Teachers of Merit. One receives $25,000. Eight others, $5,000 each.

A better man does not exist. He is all heart and soul.

Yesterday was the 63rd anniversary of the Rocky Marciano/Ezzard Charles World Heavy Weight Championship fight.

I was there! June 17, 1954.

I had just finished my freshman year at Manhattan College. My parents drove to New York City to pick me up. While there, my Father and Uncle Gus decided to attend the fight. At Yankee Stadium. They took me!

It was a typical New York City Italian evening.

We took the subway. Our seats were in left field. We could see nothing. My Aunt Louise had made us sandwiches which we took with us wrapped in wax paper and carried in a paper bag.

Fortunately, my Uncle brought binoculars. He had done the rodeo before. My father and Uncle treated me fairly. I got my time with the binoculars.

I was impressed before the fight. Big black limousines driving over the outfield to the seats surrounding the ring in the infield. Out came men in tuxedos and ladies in long. The fight was a social event.

I was impressed.

The fight began. Blurry unless you had the binoculars in hand.

Turned out, I had use of the binoculars at the right moment. I saw Marciano hit Charles so hard on the side of his face that I thought his fist was going to come out the other side of Charles’ face.

I could actually see the force of the blow thrust half of the other side of Charles’ face outward. Looked 3-4 inches to me. I thought Charles’ head was going to come off.

Marciano won soon thereafter. Marciano went on to win the rest of his fights. He retired undefeated.

I read a story in yesterday’s New York Times that touched me. To the point of tears. It may you, also.

Jeni Stephen was 16 when her father was murdered. She and her mother decided to donate his heart. They lived in Pennsylvania.

Arthur Thomas lay in a bed in a New Jersey hospital. Four days from death. He received the heart.

That was ten years ago.

Jeni’s mother and Arthur kept in touch over the years via Christmas cards and an occasional telephone call. They never met face to face. Nor did Jeni with Arthur.

Jeni was being married.

Jeni wanted Arthur to walk her down the aisle. Not in place of her father. As her father in a sense. Her father’s heart lie in Arthur’s chest.

Saturday, Jeni walked down the aisle on Arthur’s arm. When they reached the point where they were in front of the altar and Arthur was to hand Jeni over to her husband to be, Jeni raised her hand and placed it on Arthur’s chest.

She was touching her father.

The Key West Citizen made an excellent decision when it opted to run William Hackley’s diary. His 1855 Key West life.

Not merely interesting, Hackley’s story is educational. It exposes every day life from another era. One we do not know as much about as we thought.

The little things.

William’s wife Matilda had a baby. Back in those days, the mother’s breast was the source of milk. Sustenance.

Matilda was not producing enough milk. The baby in trouble. William bought a goat from Havana. The goat ran dry. Then a Mrs. Hew breast fed the baby. She ran dry. Baby was then on starch and water.

Today’s entry advises a new source of milk. A Spanish woman. She has agreed to breast feed the baby three times a day.

Interesting topics. Like a recent study indicating that 81 percent of persons living today are living poorer than their parents, Miami’s attempts to fight Zika, pesticide Nald being used, and FDA gives approval to use GM mosquitoes on a test basis in Key west suburb Key Haven.

Plus, Hillary has physical problems that need to be revealed, a new third party candidate, sex scandals in the Secret Service, a Federal court denying Libertarian and Green Party candidates the right to participate in Presidential debates, Swedish refugees scheduled for deportation disappearing, and more.

Last night began with a manicure at 5 with Tammy. She and husband Ricky do a big business. The place was packed. Fortunately, I had an appointment.

I have mentioned previously that Rick Dery is a marvelous Goddess Galore.

Beatrix Dixie new to Aqua. Only a couple of weeks. Wow! He/she could fool me! Tall, thin, an ass, great breasts, lovely face, and a lovely blond wig I could not tell was a wig.

No, I am not jumping the fence. However, Beatrix is a rare beauty.

Sheila was at the other end of the bar. She came over, looked at Beatrix, and said…..Would you believe? First time she had seen Beatrix.

John Nolte was sitting with Sheila. She introduced us. A Key West resident six years. From the Chicago area. Radio stations a big part of his former life.

A nice guy. Look forward to running into him again.

My choices for dinner were crispy duck at La Te Da, a prime rib at Outback, or the Chinese restaurant in the Sears Shopping Center. Chinese won out. I enjoyed egg drop soup,orange chicken, and conversation with a lovely Asian waitress.

I listened to Trump’s economic talk at noon yesterday. He was cutting everyone’s taxes. All I could think was how would we run the government? There would not be enough money.

They did not want Father’s Day. For shame! Social groups thought the only purpose was to commercialize the day. No honor to Dads involved. These groups had Washington politicians in their back pockets. It took till 1972 to legalize Father’s Day as a holiday.

Prejudice involved, also. Many thought fathers were not entitled to be honored as mothers were.

The media opposed marking the day. Newspapers featured cynical and sarcastic attacks on the issue. Jokes were made of the idea of having a Father’s Day.

Resistance began crumbling during Woodward Wilson’s time as President. He tried. He could not get Congress to approve a bill, however. Lyndon Johnson met with the same resistance. Seeing he could not get a law out of it, he settled for a Presidential Proclamation.

Richard Nixon succeeded where others had failed. He got Congress to pass a bill and Nixon signed it into law. Father’s Day forever to be the third Sunday in June.